PHASE III FEATURES:

No ice breakers, small blue rear numbers, no ACI labels, early K5 horn

PHASE I FEATURES:

Leslie S4T air horn (unique to these engines)

First time Icicle breaker bars front & rear

Phase I paint

#583, #586:

Small blue road numbers on rear of body

#625, #629:

No rear numbers

BNSF FEATURES:

Former ATSF rebuilt SDF40-2 body

#6962 Roof mounted prime air conditioner removed

Other details same as ATSF units

MAERSK FEATURES:

ATSF rebuilt steam line access door snow plow pilot

ATSF rebuilt “Notch Nose” front step wells/handrails

Standard profile fan housings

Steam generator removed rear hood

ATSF rebuilt fuel tank

Flat nose variant

Cab mounted headlight

Nathan K3 horn on angled bracket

Antenna plane mounted sinclair antenna

Roof mounted prime air conditioner removed

On August 15, 2002, to commemorate the opening of the world’s largest container terminal (Pier 400 in Los Angeles), Maersk Sealand had one BNSF and one NS locomotive painted in their blue and silver scheme. The locomotives were loaned to Maersk for promotional events but retained their respective owner’s reporting marks. SDF40-2 6976 was the locomotive selected as the BNSF representative.

ATSF FEATURES:

ATSF rebuilt steam line access door snow plow pilot

ATSF rebuilt “Notch Nose” front step wells/handrails

Standard profile fan housings

Steam generator removed from rear hood

ATSF rebuilt fuel tank

Flat nose variant

Antenna plane mounted sinclair antenna

Roof mounted prime air conditioner

#5251:

Rebuilt nose with yellow patches around the “Notch Nose” and stepwell per prototype rework

GENESIS 2.0 FEATURES:

By integrating and pioneering some of the latest model advancements in the industry, Athearn is redefining model fidelity with Genesis 2.0.

Illuminated number boards

Illuminated ground lights

SOUND EQUIPPED MODELS FEATURE:

Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound

Twin 28mm speakers

Sound units operate in both DC and DCC

Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode

Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC

All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode

Excellent Slow speed control

Operating lighting functions with F5 and/or F6

Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights

Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes

CV chart included

PROTOTYPE INFO:

Formed in 1971, Amtrak took over operation of most of America’s passenger trains with an assortment of old locomotives, primarily decades-old E-units. The carrier worked with General Motors Electro-Motive Division to design new passenger locomotives. The result was the SDP40F. Built by EMD from 1973–1974 for Amtrak and for a brief time they formed the backbone of Amtrak’s long-distance passenger fleet. With 150 built, the SDP40F became the “face” of Amtrak in the mid-1970s as they were found on the head ends of passenger trains from San Diego to Washington DC and from Seattle to Miami. Several were rebuilt and found a second life with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in freight service.

The design of the SDP40F was based on the EMD FP45 passenger locomotive. Both shared the EMD 645E3 diesel engine, although the SDP40F had 16 cylinders instead of 20. The space saved from the smaller prime mover was given over to increased water capacity. The SDP40F had an underbody tank split between water and diesel fuel, carrying 2,000 gallons of water and 2,500 gallons of diesel. A second 1,500 gallon water tank sat in the carbody, forward of the steam generators which produced the steam needed for supplying heat (and sometimes cooling) and hot water for the train.

Eventually, the SDP40F was phased out as all-electric cars, such as the Amfleet, displaced the old steam heat rolling stock. While the SDP40F was designed with conversion to head-end power (HEP) in mind, the bad press they received, cost to upgrade and overhaul the units, and Amtrak’s satisfaction with the versatility of the HEP-equipped F40PH ultimately doomed the SDP40F. Amtrak was able to trade in the SDP40Fs to EMD as more F40PH units were acquired in the late 1970s. The last SDP40F was retired from Amtrak in the early 1980s.

In 1984, Santa Fe Railway traded lower-power locomotives to Amtrak for 18 SDP40Fs, horsepower-for-horsepower. The SDP40Fs were reconditioned in the railroad’s San Bernardino, California shops to the designation SDF40-2 for use as freight locomotives. Santa Fe replaced the hollow HTC bolsters with conventional HTC bolsters, converted the below-frame combination fuel/water tank to an all-fuel tank, removed the above-frame water tanks (replacing these with concrete ballast) and used the engines for nearly 15 years. They were also given front steps and platforms. Their noses were notched after a second maintenance shop visit in order to improve boarding access. In exchange, Amtrak received 43 smaller locomotives for use in switching service.